Part 4 - But we're so close to Branson, MO

As Co-Pilot, Pat takes her job very seriously. She’s constantly checking the GPS, “Next Exit” and Atlas for our fuel stop, breaks or whatever. While checking the map, she was surprised to see that when we passed through Springfield, MO, we were a mere 45 miles from Branson, MO!
We couldn’t wait to hit the next rest area to “work the maps” and whether we wanted to take a few days in Branson or not.
It didn’t take us long. Luckily, the next rest stop had a MO information center… we turned south on I-65 and into Branson for four nights!
The closer we got to Branson, the steeper the hills became! We’re driving into the Ozark Mountains! Okay, we can deal with the hills on the highway; but the entire town of Branson is built in the hills! The HHR has to work to navigate some of the terrain and you don’t park anywhere without setting the parking brake… hard! You’ve got to get used to walking on a slant in the parking lots at most of the theaters in town.
A drive down “The Strip” (Route 76) is a feast of big name theaters, restaurants, “honky tonk” stores and tourist attractions.

- Outside! Inside -

There seems to be a “box office ticket store” on every block. Watch out, most of them are “time share” or sales gimmick for discounted tickets. We were told to go right to the theater box office for tickets. Of course we didn’t know that this is basically a slow time for “top name” entertainers, so we started mulling over our show choices. We thought we’d take in one or maybe two shows. We settled on Paul Revere/Bill Medley at the Andy Williams, “Blue Moon” theater. While buying tickets, we were offered a break on the price for the matinee show of Bill Hayley’s Comets… why not!
Well, as “Virgin” visitors to Brandon, we wanted to find out which out of the 117 (or so) theaters was a really good show to see. We happened on this one “ticket” store just to find out which shows are really good. Right! We ended up getting two tickets to see “Pierce Arrow” and two tickets to see “Haygoods”… after we sat through a “Wyndham Timeshare” presentation! Hey, it saved us over $100.00 and we found out which shows were really good! Nope, NO sale! I told them, if I had the money to spend on their time share points, I’d buy a new motor home!
We picked up our ticket voucher and headed to the shows! Funny, while waiting for the show to begin we couldn’t help but notice all of the other ticket vouchers people were handing in!
“Pierce Arrow” is the name of the group and the name of the theater. We guess many of the groups/entertainers buy/purchase their own theaters. They were outstanding. We learned that most of the shows are laced with “down home” comedy in addition to music.
We took the time before and between shows to take some pictures, and you already know the star of “our trip” is Gnorm the Gnome who is rapidly becoming a “photo hog!” We drove to the outer edge of town for an elevator ride up the 270’ Inspiration Tower. I took advantage of an information center “free” ticket to the top. It was a great view and an impressive tower.
Two shows today! The “Original Haley’s Comets” and Paul Revere followed by Bill Medley. The “Original Comets” played some incredible “Rock and Roll.” It’s also hard to believe how many hits they made and made more history than we realized. The “Comets” are made up of three original members; a bass player (76), Sax player (75), the drummer (86 who never missed a beat), and two “younger” members on piano and lead guitar.

Their sound is excellent, but boy they were “working” pretty hard but they were excellent!
Paul Revere is a “hoot!” He’s really funny and the “Raiders” can put together some great music. Bill Medley is classy. During his shows he always dedicates one song to his long time partner and friend, Bobby Hatfield. He performed a variety of the “Righteous Brothers songs as well as many other well known favorites. Bill Medley is a true family man and mentioned how the “Righteous Brothers” career was and is much of his family’s lives. His daughter, McKenna, performed several numbers as a fill-in for Bobby Hatfield.
After the show Pat and I (along with the rest of the audience) got to meet the Paul Revere, Bill Medley and their band. It all made for a great evening of entertainment and one we will always remember… we know Gnorm will!
We spent the night listening to the “weather warnings” on the TV and the weather radio. Fortunately, the really serious weather was just north of us, but we got a taste of MO thunder and lightening. Talk about “long rollers.” You see the flash and the thunder seems to go on for ten seconds or so as they traverse the Ozarks. At least the weather is forecast to improve by the time we head out in the morning. Today is going to be for “downtime” and one last show later tonight.
Branson is a great town to find your way around. Just about every theater/attraction is within a ten mile radius and you can get “area” maps everywhere. There is one caveat, we just happen to be here at a week that all of the big names/shows are on vacation. That means, traffic is nil, zip, nada! We’ve driven up and down the “Strip,” crossed over from side to side and Gnorm and I walked across it nearly at will. One of the tourist centers we first visited told us don’t even think of taking the motorhome down the “Strip.” When Branson is jumping (Sep. to Dec.) it can take over and hour or more to get from one end to the other and forget crossing it.
One more day, it’s raining, Pat’s doing laundry and one more show to see before we pack up tomorrow. We just heard from Bob and Phyllis Wood, fellow WIT Club members, who are staying at the Casino River Campground in St. Louis (sound familiar).
Tonight we get to see the “Haygoods,” a group of eight brothers and a sister. And what a show it was! These kids sang, each played multiple instruments, and tap danced to a great variety of songs.

We found out what Branson is like when it's busy! Leaving the theater we turned right onto the "Strip" and into bumper to bumper traffic. All the theaters get out around the same time.

Branson turned out to be one great stop-over!

Now, back to reality... we're on the road in the a.m.